Op-Ed: Roy Cooper betrayed North Carolina’s women athletes
Payton McNabb
North State Journal
March 20, 2026
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s more important than ever that North Carolina’s next U.S. senator stands with women and girl athletes. I know firsthand what’s at stake when our leaders allow biological males to compete in female athletics. Four years ago, in Cherokee County, I was knocked unconscious during my high school volleyball game when a spike from a biological male competing on a girls’ team hit me in the head. I suffered a concussion, ongoing vision problems, partial paralysis on my right side, headaches, anxiety and depression that I still live with today. That injury forever changed my life.
We need leaders who fight for the thousands of girls who pour their sweat, blood and bones into hard-earned opportunities. This is about safety, fairness and preserving the integrity of women’s sports.
But Roy Cooper betrayed North Carolina’s women athletes. As governor, Cooper vetoed House Bill 574, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. I testified before the General Assembly telling my story and advocating for this commonsense legislation that would have simply ensured that girls compete against girls. Instead, Cooper dismissed the concerns of female athletes and our families, calling the bill a “solution in search of a problem,” despite the very real physical harm experienced by women like me. Don’t forget, Cooper also championed policies allowing biological males into women’s locker rooms and bathrooms.
Now, Cooper is asking North Carolinians to give him a promotion to the United States Senate, and we must retire him permanently.
Thankfully, not every leader is willing to ignore women and girls. Last year, President Donald Trump honored me during his joint address to Congress, sharing my story with the nation and shining a light on what female athletes are facing across the country. That moment proved that our voices are finally being heard. President Trump has been clear and unapologetic: women’s sports deserve protection, and fairness should never be sacrificed for a political agenda.
Then-Gov. Cooper bent his knee to far-left activists who don’t represent North Carolina’s values. He rejected the safety and dignity of women who have dedicated themselves to their sports and he would do so again if elected to the U.S. Senate.
Career politicians like Cooper would rather make excuses than face reality. They would rather protect ideology than defend women’s rights. And in doing so, they abandon the very athletes they claim to support.
This isn’t about hate. It’s about ensuring North Carolina’s women athletes should never have to stand where I stand, permanently sidelined by an injury that could have been prevented with clear, commonsense protections. Female athletes across North Carolina — and every young woman who dares to pursue her sporting dreams — deserve leaders who fight for them.
If my experience can help prevent another girl from suffering like I did, then it’s a story worth telling. And it’s a fight worth fighting.
Payton McNabb is a Women’s Forum ambassador.
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